Senator Menendez’s weaknesses are why I have contended that from the start, PBO wanted John Kerry to be SOS, but knew that in his first term he needed Kerry as chair of the Foreign Relations Comm. He would never have gotten the START treaty through if Menendez had been chair. Kerry knew this, and I’m sure the two of them talked about it. We know now that SOS Kerry was doing diplomatic work for the admin sub rosa…and there’ve been pictures of him, now, from four years ago, with the foreign policy makers.
Menendez does not see the big picture, the long game at all. sad. Now Reid has to deal with M’s ego and power trip.

It’s so frustrating. All this posturing does absolutely nothing to further mankind in general, or any American, specifically. If they’ve got objections, then they should air them and offer viable alternatives – that’s the mandate of their jobs. Instead, they just obstruct the only ideas that are on the table – for very complex problems. Worthless.

Carolyn, your comments jumped off of the screen for me. I have been discussing this same point with a friend who thinks so way out in a field that I do not even want to get into. I have felt that Sen. Menendez is a very weak Chairman for the Foreign Relations Committee. I do not like his laid back attitude, and I surely cannot stand his attitude towards President Obama.

I know junior senator, Cory Booker will not be tripped up by his senior Senator Menendez. Sen. Booker is smarter than that. I know that SOS Kerry has a great respect for those on the Foreign Relations Committee, but he is very mindful of how he deals with them when he is expected to report to them. SOS has a great respect for President Obama and I do believe that he is the right chose for this time.

Thanks Carolyn and theo67 for your thoughts on this. I was trying to find a space within my space to put forth forgiveness for my feelings towards Chairman Menendez. It is like he does not care. TY for an inspirational moment. HZ

Carolyn, I appreciate your comment and your insights! You make tons of sense. Sen Menendez would have been a disaster as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during President Obama’s first term. I must confess that I know very little about Sen. Menendez! I was, however, surprised that he became the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee despite the fact that he has served less than two terms in the Senate. From what I’ve seen of him, I am not terribly impressed. Why in the world is Sen. Menendez hell bent on undermining the preliminary Iran deal which has the potential of peacefully resolving Iran’s nuclear issue?

“CAN’T WAIT” for him to pop-up in clips of the absurd, white-wash willard movie that I won’t watch. I’d sooner grab a white-hot pair of pliers with my bare hand and gouge my own eye out. No doubt eddie-paul munster’s appearances will be heavily edited to make him look NOT like the privileged, wormy, vacuous little prick that he is.

No matter what day one happened to check in via CSPAN, since 20 Jan 2009 the display of brutal indifference to the plight of Americans – from soldiers in combat, to vets, to the unemployed, to students, to women and girls, to our environment, to EVERYTHING – displayed by Republicans will be seen as one of the most damaging acts every perpetrated.

@OFA@DSCC@DCCC It's all in the CSPAN archives. Since 20Jan09 a trove of evidence of @GOP intentionally harming Americans to damage #POTUS.

Gail, I think his primary reason for doing it was to stick it to Putin & lend public support to LGBT Russians. BTW, until I saw that PBO had selected him I didn’t know who the fella is as I’m not a sports spectator & hardly ever glance at sports news 😉

Did Boitano come out as gay? Good for him. Hope he came out earlier to his friends and family.

I thought he had come out years ago (don’t need gaydar for lots of celebs) and almost included that in one of my comments a couple of days ago, but thought better of it…

His father was a Vice President at the company I worked for at the time, so Boitano was a big deal then. Loved the competition of the “two Brians” (Boitano and Orser) back then, loved Orser’s routine to TMBG’s Constantinople.

(((((((((((((( TY, our Champion of Twitter))))))))))))). I was watching it live on C-SPAN and so I just started typing. Our TOD family is so right on the issues that we seem to run in the same trend of thinking. I love my TOD brilliant minds on this beautiful site. Thank you, Bobfr for all of the great work that you do all of the time. We are so blessed to be in your presence. HZ

WASHINGTON — In a remarkable rebuke to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), 10 other Senate committee chairs are circulating a joint letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, urging him to reject an effort by Menendez to tighten sanctions on Iran and warning that his bill could disrupt ongoing nuclear negotiations.

The senators write in their letter that “at this time, as negotiations are ongoing, we believe that new sanctions would play into the hands of those in Iran who are most eager to see the negotiations fail.”

Earlier Thursday, a senior White House official had accused Menendez of undermining the negotiations.

That’s why we as Democrats can’t have nice things; this guy is a panderer of the worst kind. Surely New Jersey has more pressing issues, oh I don’t know, maybe Senator Menendez can investigate New Jersey’s Governor for closing a major highway that connects New Jersey and New York all because his ass wasn’t sufficiently kissed.

Thanks for this tweet Bob. This is why PBO could not have John Kerry as SOS first term…..he knew the kind of shenanigans Menendez would pull. Kerry knew it too.
This just gives more support to my position about the SOS first term that I posited a few weeks ago here. to recap…..PBO knew Menendez was weak and he needed Kerry as chair of foreign relations committee; he also knew HRC could give trouble in the Senate; he talked this over with Kerry, and Kerry knew his mind also…..so, Kerry was a good Senator and chair and PBO used him sub rosa in international dealings………now Kerry is a smashing SOS!

Just walked in, gturned on my local news and one of the first reports was how “by large percentage, people believe big government is the most pressing concern for our country.” Went on to say that “big government” is always a big concern but this is the largest number ever. I was so furious, I didn’t even catch what the number was. Wanted to throw something at the TV………..Sigh………..

Full disclosure. I watch Duck Dynasty and really enjoy it. There is a part of me that thinks the family patriarch should not have been suspended, just like I don’t believe Bashir should have been suspended, MoveOn censured by Congress or The Dixie Chicks ostracized.

Obviously, I don’t agree with anything he said, but I really wonder if we, as a nation, have gone too far at times. We can end up giving too much credibility to certain things when all we do is condemn and punish. Have to do more thinking on this one.

Firing people over their comments is an abridgment of 1st amendment rights.

People are entitled to their opinions, and to air them publicly, regardless of whether you or I disagree.

Threatening people or groups cannot be condoned, but expressing opinions is valid. BTW I don’t know what this guy said (don’t know who he is, don’t know who or what Duck Dynasty is) but know he expressed negative opinions about gays. That’s his opinion, so let it be.

Got me thinking. So many auditoriums get so much wear and tear during the holidays. with dozens of performances. stomping feet, and crowded aisles. And in a place like London, I bet there’s a lot of really, really old theaters that don’t get the maintenance they should or don’t get replaced as often as they should. In the States, the very old theaters have become museums or have been practically gutted and modernized. But in a place where really old means 300 years plus, I can see how a more regular theater may be simply patched together over and over.

And, I believe, a good many people want to keep all of the old structures going, maybe long past their prime, including Prince Charles. I’m not blaming him, but structural integrity checks might get lost in the mix, sometimes.

I live in an old school that was modernized. But being in the States, we added a new roof and other things to stabilize it. Not to mention the advantage of it being abandoned for decades was that we had to use all new wiring, plumbing and et cetera. And a residence has far less stress than a school would on its quietest day, so the modernization will hold pretty well. So there’s no danger of collapse of the roof or anything else for a very long time.

Love that you live in an old school that was modernized! That would be what I would have liked to have done at some point (live in a similar old building), although I’ve resided in some good spots over the years, so I’m not complaining.

I agree. Some things may need to be gutted, like the White House was, or even replaced due to the materials that wer used in the original building. Two centuries of termites and wood rot may rerquire it. Or materials like abestos and lead need to remediated for obvious reasons. That brings up a little tidbit: during the September 11th burning of the Pentagon, it was found that the roof was difficult to put out because it was made of horsehair used for insulation. Of course, it was outdated, but still nobody ever had thought of replacing that roof with something more fitting, secure and energy-saving.

Probably because “MILCON.” Over the years, the military construction budgets (for ashore buildings) were all pulled back. That’s a lot of years not to pay attention to such an important building as The Pentagon (it’s like an indoor city within those walls, if you haven’t been inside), of course, and – unfortunately – a big chunk of it was totally re-done after Sept. 11 when the airplane hit.

I love the old buildings – and some in London are 1000 years old – something we can never see in the US or Australia. Often they are amazingly well built (have to be to last so long). We have had instances in my city where balconies less than 50 years old have collapsed – usually when crowded with people – and cheap builders not going the extra step are discovered.

And then I see the Apollo was built in 1901 – so in European/UK times – not so very old – and it wasn’t a balcony collapse – it was the roof – so it may not have been so well built – nor well maintained.

I’ve found that most old structures in the UK are well maintained – perhaps it is more likely to be the government ones than those in private ownership – food for thought for those who complain of the “restrictions” of local government rules and regulations related to building.

I’m not surprised at this. However there was a time not that long ago that a male performer needed to at least be discreet so that he could get advertising dollars, and before that as a figure skater, jobs and support. There was a pressure for skaters to be “All American” or seemingly innocent. An out gay skater would have risked forfeiting medals and much more to really come out. Thankfully, times have changed, and Johnny Weir and Brian Boitano can be true to themselves.

And don’t forget, he was at his Olympic best during the height of the scourge of AIDS.

One of my best friends in high school, a guy popular with all the pretty girls, announced he was gay the summer after we graduated. He, along with several of my co-workers died of that awful disease 20 plus years ago.

So there was a definite stigma against AIDS, and sadly by extension, against gays.

And a Brian Boitano who needed to pay back skating debt and to make a living as a pro-may have not wanted to come out public in such an atmosphere. He could live openly, but as long as he didn’t say so, he could be like Liberace and make a living being ambiquous. Fortunately, society matured enough so he could be open now as soon as he turned pro, and maybe once the Russians grow up, even as a competitor.

But what is really needed in figure skating is a gay female coming out as well.

So this Robertson from the Duck Dynasty has a Bi-racial adopted grandson. I bet he would say that he loves his grandson. Yet he spouts wicked ugly bat poop about people of color and Gay people? Wow. Now the right want forgiveness? They called for Bashir to be fired. But when it comes to the Rightie spouting nonsense, then forgiveness and Freedom of speech are scream out loudly by them?

I don’t know if anybody else covered this but 2 more people have been released from Guantanamo. This time to Sudan. That makes 6 men released in the last few days.
number now is 158. It was over 250 when POTUS started his first term.
If the releases continue, however slowly, surely it will be a comfort to those still incarcerated.
I’d like to see all the 86 prisoners who were cleared for release several years ago on their way to freedom ASAP. If PBO can do this I am sure he will. Another reason to hate the GOP.

Don’t anyone think that the House Republicans are the only nuts in the Republican Party, the lilly white Senators are just as nutty as the old white Tea Republicans in the House. I hope Senator Reid tell them like POTUS did, we don’t deal with terrorists.

Maybe we can tweet them. Maybe we could try to appeal to their pride. They have a high opinion of themselves. When we attack them, it doesn’t work in the long term. They get back at us or at the President. Maybe we can try something different. USE THEIR EGO, tell them that THEY ARE THE ONES who can make things better. I don’t know. Make them understand that their silence is part of the problem. THey KNOW that the obstruction has become ridiculous. They have to have a bit of courage for once. They’re so obnubilated by politics as a “game”, they’ve forgotten that in the end, it’s about democratic institutions and democracy itself.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Thursday said that the federal government will hit the federal debt ceiling at some point in late February or early March, according to the Huffington Post.

“While this forecast is subject to inherent variability, we do not foresee any reasonable scenario in which the extraordinary measures would last for an extended period of time — principally because the government experiences large net cash outflows in February and March due to tax refunds,” Lew wrote in a letter to Congress obtained by the Huffington Post.

Congress voted in October to extend the debt ceiling through Feb. 7, and Lew said that the Treasury can keep spending for only a few weeks beyond that using extraordinary measures, according to the Huffington Post.

It seems even when you vote for the pro choice person – they suddenly change their views – PBO seems to be the only politician in a long time who has introduced laws related to his election policy – and for that he has been attacked every which way what way.

Now 4 states are exceeding their expected enrollment targets, up from only 2 this morning.
Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and New York are the 4 states knocking this out of the park today. Tomorrow? we will see.
And yes, I am obsessed with this rollout.

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
The Honorable John A. Boehner Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Last week, the House of Representatives passed-budget agreement that provides partial relief from the sequester for FY 2014 and FY 2015, and enacts spending and other reforms. Yesterday, a bipartisan majority of the United States Senate passed the same agreement. With these votes, Congress again has demonstrated its ability to work constructively to address the country’s most pressing fiscal issues.

In this spirit, I am writing to urge Congress to take prompt action to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by extending the nation’s borrowing authority. It is incumbent on Congress to allow Treasury to finance the spending levels established in the budget agreement as well as the commitments previously approved by Congress.

In October, Congress passed the Continuing Appropriations Act to suspend the statutory debt limit through February 7, 2014. When that suspension period ends, the United States will reach the debt limit again. At that time,in the absence of Congressional action,Treasury would be forced to take extraordinary measures to continue to finance the government on a temporary basis. We currently estimate that through the use oft hese measures, we would be able to extend the nation’s borrowing authority only until late February or early March 2014. While this forecast is subject to inherent variability, we do not foresee any reasonable scenario in which the extraordinary measures would last for an extended period o f time – principally because the government experiences large net cash outflows in February and March due to tax refunds.

Protecting the full faith and credit of the United States is the responsibility of Congress, because only Congress can extend the nation’s borrowing authority. No Congress in our history has failed to meet that responsibility. The creditworthiness of the United States is an essential underpinning of our strength as a nation; it is not a bargaining chip to be used for partisan political ends. Moreover, as you know, increasing the debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments. It simply allows the government to pay for expenditures Congress has already approved.
with an overwhelming bipartisan majority- a The American public expects its leaders to put an end to governing by crisis and to focus on promoting economic growth and job creation. I respectfully urge Congress to take action to raise the debt limit at the earliest possible moment and ideally well before February 7, 2014.